TRENTON
- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and
Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory
A. Paw announced that a certified nurse’s
aide has been charged with stealing from
a 90-year-old resident at the Meadow Lakes
assisted living facility in East Windsor.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Charlotte Moreland, 41, of Trenton,
was charged with third-degree theft by unlawful
taking in an indictment returned by a Mercer
County Grand Jury. The indictment alleges
that on at least seven occasions between
Oct. 24 and Oct. 31, 2005, Moreland used
the Meadow Lakes resident’s ATM card
without her permission. Moreland allegedly
withdrew more than $1,800 from the resident’s
bank account.
Crimes
of the third degree carry a sentence of
up to five years in state prison and a criminal
fine of up to $15,000. The matter will also
be referred to the state Department of Health
and Senior Services, which certifies nurse’s
aides, for any action deemed appropriate
with regard to Moreland’s certification.
The
investigation was conducted by the Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit, which investigates and
prosecutes both civil and criminal Medicaid
fraud, as well as abuse or neglect of the
elderly and disabled. State Investigator
Anthony Iannice and Deputy Attorneys General
William Hoyman and Alvina Seto were assigned
to the investigation. Seto presented the
matter to the Mercer County Grand Jury.
"The Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor,
as part of its statewide mandate to investigate
insurance fraud, routinely investigates
fraud and abuse associated with the Medicaid
Program, including patient abuse cases,"
Fraud Prosecutor Brown said.
The
indictment was handed up on Aug. 23. The
indictment is merely an accusation and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
Prosecutor
Brown noted that some important cases have
started with anonymous tips. People who
are concerned about insurance cheating and
have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free
hotline 1-877-55-FRAUD or visiting the Web
at www.njinsurancefraud.org.
State regulations permit an award to be
paid to an eligible person who provides
information that leads to an arrest, prosecution
and conviction for insurance fraud.
The
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor was
established by the Automobile Insurance
Cost Reduction Act of 1998. The office is
the centralized state agency that investigates
and prosecutes both civil and criminal insurance
fraud, as well as Medicaid fraud.
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